Commercial aircraft are used to transport passengers between locations. During a typical day, numerous commercial aircraft may take off from and land at a particular airport. After an aircraft lands on a runway, a pilot maneuvers the aircraft onto a taxiway via one of multiple exits from the runway.
After an aircraft touches down on a runway, a pilot applies brakes of the aircraft so that the aircraft decelerates on the runway. A pilot then visually searches for a safe exit point from the runway. In low visibility situations, a pilot may have difficulty finding an appropriate exit from the runway. The pilot may maneuver past an unseen exit from the runway. As such, the aircraft may remain on the runway, which may prevent other aircraft from landing on the occupied runway.
Often, a pilot may decelerate the aircraft to a relatively low speed so that an appropriate exit is not missed. However, because the aircraft is traveling at a slower speed, the aircraft remains on the runway for a longer period of time. As such, other aircraft may be prevented from landing on the runway due to the pilot of the low speed aircraft on the runway trying to find an exit.
In general, pilots currently need to judge if they can safely exit an aircraft onto a nearby taxiway via one of multiple exits from the runway. Particularly in low visibility situations, a pilot may be overly cautious and opt for a taxiway further down the runway. As such, the aircraft burns more fuel, taxi time increases, and another aircraft waiting to land may need to circle the airport due to the runway being occupied longer than expected.
Whether the aircraft misses a suitable exit point from a runway, or is moving relatively slow on the runway searching for the suitable exit, arrival time at a gate is extended. As such, arrival at the gate may be later than expected, which generally disappoints passengers onboard the aircraft. Further, individuals typically wait at the particular gate for the aircraft for a subsequent flight. The departure time for such individuals may also be delayed, due to the pilot of the aircraft searching for an appropriate exit from the runway.
An aircraft remaining on a runway poses safety concerns, in that other aircraft may be prevented from landing, or may land and generally be relatively close to the initial aircraft on the runway. Further, aircraft on the runway may increase customer dissatisfaction in that both arrival and departures times may be delayed.